Chapter 115: Welcome to Yifu City

The players participating in the dungeon raid were quickly selected.

The preliminary roster was set at 18 people, the vast majority of whom came from Shi Ning's lecture team, with player levels all around level 20.

Of the players local to Wanghai City, only Wu Chang, Zhao Yan, and two other instructors participated.

Unfortunately, powerful players like Lei Hu and Meng Yawen were currently at the branch bureau handling the handover of additional compensation brought by Lin Jiang.

And the combat club where the branch bureau was located happened to be outside the range of the erosion zone.

In the 18-person squad, the absolute main forces for the raid were Shi Ning and Xiang Jianxing.

As a researcher, Shi Ning did not like combat, but having been in the Abyss Game long enough, his level had already reached the level 30 cap of the Wilderness Realm.

His style leaned toward support, with his own skill system centered on drawing talismans.

He was seen taking out an altar table covered with a yellow tablecloth and a stack of yellow paper, drawing three paper talismans for each team member.

"Item Name: Insight Talisman"

"Item Type: Limited-time Consumable"

"Item Description: Using an Insight Talisman grants the Spirit Light state, providing a chance to discover special clues while exploring the dungeon; the effect is influenced by Inspiration."

"Item Name: Protection Talisman"

"Item Type: Limited-time Consumable"

"Item Description: Using a Protection Talisman grants a layer of Golden Light Shield, blocking significant damage and bestowing the 'Immune to All Evil' state."

"Item Name: Crane Seeking Talisman"

"Item Type: Limited-time Consumable"

"Item Description: Using a Crane Seeking Talisman summons a path-finding paper crane, which will be attracted to supernatural events currently in progress."

Shi Ning divided the squad into nine groups of two, with himself and a Management Bureau member skilled in defense holding the center, while the other eight groups split into eight directions, starting from Wanghai University and expanding outward to explore.

He instructed everyone: "Once an out-of-control dungeon begins to erode reality, it will gradually break through the dungeon's original level cap. We must finish the battle quickly and find the dungeon's erosion core before it grows into an A-rank out-of-control dungeon."

"The method for raiding an erosion dungeon in reality is different from that in the Abyss Game; exploration should not prioritize completion percentage, but rather speed and safety. Mark any suspicious areas you encounter, do not advance rashly, and wait until the preliminary exploration is complete before exploring further with other squads."

According to the original grouping, Wu Chang should have been in a group with Zhao Yan, with Xiang Jianxing and Shi Ning providing support from the center.

But Xiang Jianxing worried that Wu Chang would struggle to protect himself, so he took the initiative to switch and join Wu Chang's group.

Although Xiang Jianxing meant well, Wu Chang did not appreciate it and instead found it troublesome.

Being followed by someone who could see through truth and falsehood was not as comfortable as letting him bring a dead weight along.

Yes, the dead weight refers to Zhao Yan.

The Jinjingyuan residential complex, where Wu Chang and Yu Ailin lived, was located southwest of Wanghai University, so he took the initiative to apply to explore this area.

As soon as he left Wanghai University, he felt something was wrong.

He had spent four years at Wanghai University and could walk the surrounding streets with his eyes closed; he could be certain that the school's west gate was absolutely not like what was before him.

The landmark Orange Hotel at the entrance was still there, but the hotel's sign had changed to "Honey Peach Grand Hotel."

Looking inside from the entrance, the hotel lobby was filled with tables and chairs; it had truly become a restaurant.

This feeling was extremely eerie, as if two cities had overlapped and merged together.

He told Xiang Jianxing about the several anomalies he had discovered and asked: "Do dungeons that erode reality after going out of control superimpose themselves onto the real world?"

Xiang Jianxing shook his head, "You must have come across the 'Otherworld Secret Realms' that have been trending lately; they are the traces left behind by dungeons eroding reality. Normally, dungeons that erode reality appear as if an extra area has appeared out of thin air and will not affect the original space."

Wu Chang frowned, unsure if this change came from the Painter's ability or the out-of-control dungeon.

Several drones flew over the two men's heads, heading toward the densely populated area to the southeast.

While the drones were in flight, the speakers attached to them were broadcasting a voice message.

"Citizens, please be advised: due to extreme and unusual weather conditions, the city has entered a red alert state. Please remain indoors and do not venture outside lightly."

These drones came from the ability of a Management Bureau member and were unaffected by the dungeon's erosion barrier, currently acting as little loudspeakers to remind the city's residents not to leave their homes.

According to past experience in dealing with erosion dungeons, as long as one stayed indoors, one could avoid over eighty percent of the danger.

"Citizens..."

When the drone broadcasted for the third time, the sound suddenly became intermittent, as if the signal were being affected.

A few seconds later, the broadcast resumed, but the content had changed.

"Welcome, residents, to Yifu City. The Yifu City Miracle Committee reminds everyone to stay positive and cheerful, maintain vitality, and have a healthy day. Please integrate with us; our faith will forge a beautiful tomorrow for Yifu City."

The reason for the drone's anomaly was soon reported from the rear.

According to the person involved, when the drone he was controlling left a range of five hundred meters from him, he felt something in the dungeon hijack his ability.

Not only could he not shake off that hijacking, but the propaganda slogans about Yifu City also pierced directly into his mind; if not for the Protection Talisman, he likely would have had his Inspiration go berserk on the spot.

A bad start, but not without gains.

At the very least, they now knew the background of the dungeon was called Yifu City.

This name was enough to investigate intelligence related to the dungeon.

Erosion dungeons are detached from the Abyss Game, and their time flow is synchronized with the real world; the downside is that the time taken to raid the dungeon is prolonged, which leads to more casualties within the dungeon.

The upside is the ability to seek outside help and search for information in real-time.

During the waiting time, the group did not stop.

Xiang Jianxing activated a Crane Seeking Talisman; the paper talisman burned and transformed into a small red crane.

The little crane circled above the two men's heads, then let out a crane cry and flew off into the distance.

The two followed closely behind.

Half a month ago, Wanghai City had just experienced an emergency evacuation; although the predicted danger did not occur, people's nerves remained sensitive.

Now that the weather had suddenly changed and the sky was as gloomy as if it were about to collapse, one could see without an official announcement that something major was about to happen.

Even if it wasn't a natural disaster, it was at least a heavy rainstorm.

Most of the Wanghai City citizens caught in the erosion zone were hiding indoors, afraid to go out.

But some people were worried that this was a delayed arrival of the previously predicted earthquake and that hiding indoors would be more dangerous.

Yet, as soon as the citizens stepped outside, they were dumbfounded: was this still the Wanghai City they had lived in their whole lives?

How was it so different from what they remembered?

An elderly couple with a child stood outside their residential complex, looking at the intersection that had suddenly appeared at the entrance with faces full of confusion.

"Grandma, was there an intersection at our entrance before?"

The old lady shook her head and said, "I don't think so. Was it built just last night?"

A neighbor at the entrance of the complex chimed in: "It's not 'shouldn't be,' it's definitely not there. I drive every day; our entrance is a straight road, where would an intersection come from? To build an intersection, wouldn't they have to tear down the complex?"

The neighbor made sense, and everyone looked along the intersection.

You really couldn't say otherwise; the longitudinal main road of the intersection had truly driven straight into the complex.

Building No. 7 and Building No. 8, which were originally connected, had actually split apart from the middle, turning into a V-shape to make way for a road.

This left the residents completely baffled; you could say it was possible to build a road overnight, but to have Building No. 7 and 8 split their legs overnight, wasn't that a bit absurd? Just as everyone was wondering, cheerful music drifted over from afar.

A colorful bus drove out from between the split legs of Building No. 7 and 8 and stopped in front of the crowd.

Four young women in full suits, wearing smiling masks on their faces, hopped off the bus and, right in front of everyone, started dancing along to the music.

The young women had slender figures, with curves in all the right places, and were particularly pleasing to the eye as they danced.

These days, anyone wearing a suit outside is either a salesperson or an agent; with the girls dancing so energetically, they must be selling apartments.

After all, housing prices had fallen sharply recently, and they were the most desperate.

Several middle-aged men returning home for their lunch break sighed; it was a pity, if they were selling something else, they might support them, but selling houses was out of the question—they hadn't even finished paying off the mortgage on the one they were living in now.

After the song finished, the lead woman in the suit walked toward the elderly couple with the child.

The old man waved his hand quickly, "Miss, I'm not buying a house, I'm not getting insurance, and I'm not listening to any lectures. Before the child left, he warned me: even if you give away eggs, I can't go."

The smiling mask on the woman's face changed, the smile becoming a bit wider; she bowed slightly and said:

"You've misunderstood; we aren't salespeople. We are from the Yifu City Miracle Committee, here to bring warmth to the community."

!

What kind of place was Yifu City, and what kind of warmth were they bringing to Wanghai City?

Looks of confusion appeared on everyone's faces.

The woman in the suit smiled and said, "First of all, welcome to Yifu City. Since you have arrived in Yifu City, we are all one family."

The old man was completely stunned, feeling as if he had woken up from a nap at noon and the world had changed.

The sky had darkened, a road had appeared at the entrance, and even Wanghai City had changed its name.

He looked at the crowd, unsure if he had encountered that "Mandela" something effect Professor Shi mentioned, the one where people get confused when there are too many of them.

The woman in the suit continued:

"Since we are family, we hope you can integrate with us. Yifu City wants every citizen to be positive and cheerful, maintain vitality, and a healthy day starts with exercise. Let us lead you in a dance."

The old man understood this part and shook his head quickly.

"I can't do what you just danced, Miss. With these old arms and legs of mine, wouldn't I fall apart if I jumped around? Plus, it's a cloudy, rainy day, and my old cold-leg pain is acting up. You should go find someone else."

The woman in the suit did not move, her masked face staring straight at the old man.

"It is precisely because you are like this that you need a healthy body. Sir, you are thinking in your heart right now: 'I want to be healthy, I want to dance.'"

The old man waved his hand, "Really, I can't. You go find someone else."

The woman's pristine white smiling mask suddenly turned grayish-white, and the corners of the mask's mouth drooped on the spot.

Her tone turned cold as she said: "Think with me: 'I want to be healthy, I want to dance.'"

The old man was intimidated by the woman's aura and whispered: "Alright, alright, alright, I'm thinking it: I want to be healthy, I want to dance."

As soon as these words were spoken, a layer of white light emerged on the surface of the old man's body; he looked as if he had become a dozen years younger, and the old cold-leg pain that had been bothering him didn't hurt at all.

At this moment, the music started again, and without needing to follow along, the old man started dancing on the spot.

Hopping, jumping, doing a handstand, splits, and a backbend—all in one go—left his wife and grandson stunned.

The old man could no longer remember how many years it had been since his body felt this light.

The feeling of being young is truly wonderful.

If only he could stop, that would be even better.

"Miss, why can't I stop?"

After the old man began to dance, several women in suits each picked a target and began to persuade them.

The neighbors initially thought it was amazing and wanted to join in, but upon seeing the old man shouting to be stopped, they realized something was wrong.

A young man who had been approached recalled short videos he had seen recently, which claimed that some criminals with special abilities were committing crimes all over the world.

Could these people before him be those criminals?

He lowered his head, bypassed the woman in the suit, and walked toward his home without looking back.

"I still have to go to work this afternoon, so I won't be joining."

The mask on the woman in the suit turned gray, and she called out behind him:

"Sir, wait a moment, you must integrate into Yifu City."

The young man pretended not to hear and started to jog.

The mask on the woman in the suit turned black, her expression ferocious: "Sir!"

Snap.

As the running man’s foot landed, a sound of bone fracturing echoed; his ankle bent ninety degrees to the side, and the bone shards even poked through the skin.

Just as the man was about to shriek, another snap sounded in his ear.

He saw the masked woman appear before him.

To be precise, his head had been twisted 180 degrees.

With his ankle broken and his head twisted backward, the man did not fall; instead, he followed the music, hopping and skipping back to the gate of the residential complex, dancing just like the old man.

Watching the two dancing, the woman in the suit’s black, ferocious mask turned back into a white, smiling mask; she tilted her head slightly and said in a cute tone:

"Sir, I told you, you need to integrate into Yifu City. Antisocial guys aren't welcome here."

Silence, absolute silence.

The next moment, hysterical screaming erupted.

People ran toward their homes like madmen, fearing that if they were a moment late, they would be spoken to by these freaks and follow in the young man's footsteps.

The old lady wanted to run too, but she couldn't move fast, and she couldn't let go of her grandson, so she could only hug him tightly and cover his eyes, not letting him see the young man—whose eyes were wide open and who had died a miserable death—dancing wildly with her husband.

The several women in suits watched the scattering crowd, staring blankly like robots for a moment before coming to their senses, saying in a troubled tone:

"These new citizens are really quite troublesome."

Their masks all turned black simultaneously, and just as they were about to activate their abilities to make the people like the young man,

before they could even raise their hands, they heard the cry of a crane from afar.

The next moment, a flying sword, accompanied by the sound of tearing wind, nailed into the face of the lead woman in the suit, the tip of the sword piercing out from the back of her head.

The mask on the woman in the suit cracked, revealing a blank, dull, and lifeless face underneath.

To call it a person, it was more like a puppet.

The death of their leader caused the other three to ignore the fleeing civilians and look in unison toward the direction from which the flying sword had been shot.

The flying sword flew back from the face of the woman in the suit, and a moment later, Xiang Jianxing arrived on his sword.

"Conghua, hide well, leave them to me."

Wu Chang, who had his social phobia activated, quietly approached the woman in the suit who had been struck in the face.

Perhaps because she was not a living creature to begin with, she still had a breath left after taking a sword strike that should have been fatal, struggling as she tried to use her ability.

Why bother?

He used the Sea Snake's venom to deliver a finishing blow.

The next moment, he stared at the notification before him, stunned.

Killing monsters in an erosion dungeon actually gives experience?

(End of chapter)